CBS Films Inc. was an American film production and distribution company founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of

CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, an ...

and was considered a mini-major studio up until 2019. CBS Films originally was planned to distribute, develop and produce four to six $50 million budget movies a year. After October 11, 2019, CBS Films was re-configured to be a production company for

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s to be carried by CBS All Access (now

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...

Background

The CBS network had formed a previous CBS Films, Inc. as its syndication arm in 1952, which was later renamed CBS Enterprises in 1968, then later Viacom two years later, but due to fin-syn law being upheld in 1972, CBS was forced to spin off the company. CBS made a brief move into film production in 1967, creating Cinema Center Films and closed in 1972 as an unprofitable unit. In 1979 CBS launched a new theatrical films division, which was officially named

CBS Theatrical Films CBS Theatrical Films, also as CBS Theatrical Films Group, was the film production branch of the U.S. television network, CBS, which was active from 1979 to 1985. CBS was also a partner in TriStar Pictures, which started as a joint venture with ...

the following year. While this was in operation, CBS entered into a joint venture with

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

and HBO called Tri-Star Pictures. CBS eventually dropped out of the venture in 1985, and CBS Theatrical Films came to an end that same year. In 2000, CBS was bought by Viacom, which also owned

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Company history

In March 2007, following the 2006 split from Viacom which retained Paramount, CBS Corporation launched CBS Films with the hiring of

Bruce Tobey The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

as head of business affairs, legal, finance and video distribution.

Amy Baer Amy is a female given name, sometimes short for Amanda, Amelia (name), Amelia, Amélie (given name), Amélie, or Amita (disambiguation), Amita. In French language, French, the name is spelled ''"Aimée"''. People A–E * Amy Acker (born 1976), ...

was hired in September 2007 as president and CEO for CBS Films. With CBS retaining ownership of

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

and Viacom deciding to launch Epix in 2009 with Paramount films, this division was created to make content for the channel. On November 17, 2009, CBS signed with

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...

for a three-year deal for international distribution. The studio's launch seemed to well timed to its executives with the closure or restructuring of many film studios including the formerly prominent

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

, Miramax Films and Warner Independent Pictures. Also that CBS will be able to well market its films with all its parent corporation's advertising channels from broadcast to billboards. The studio released its first film, '' Extraordinary Measures'', on January 22, 2010. CBS Films released its second film, a romantic comedy '' The Back-up Plan'', in April 2010. Opening over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, ''Faster'', its third film and the Dwayne Johnson action flick, was weak at the box office with a $12 million start. In August, the company purchased distribution rights for the first time for the remake movie, ''The Mechanic''. CBS moved to replace Bruce Tobey, chief operations officer, with Wolfgang Hammer in November 2010. After releasing five films and only one gross over $30 million, CBS Films's decided to change direction and become an acquirer of films rather than a producer in March 2011. Baer was released after the ended of her contract in October, with a trio of senior executives left to head up the division. On April 23, 2012, CBS Films named Hammer and Terry Press Co-presidents. Press, who had been consulting for the studio since 2010, oversees creative, distribution, marketing and physical production. Hammer will oversees all business, finance, legal affairs and acquisitions, including financed, co-financed and completed projects for the division. Hammer moved CBS Films into becoming a major film acquisition mover thus allowing internal projects to development more. CBS's highest profile purchase was $4 million for ''

Inside Llewyn Davis ''Inside Llewyn Davis'' () is a 2013 period black comedy musical drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1961, the film follows one week in the life of Llewyn Davis, played by Oscar Isaac in his breakt ...

'' which won Cannes' Grand Prix and nominations for two Academy and 3 Golden Globe awards. In July 2014, Hammer moved from being co-president to being a consultant for digital. In 2015,

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquarter ...

took over CBS Films' U.S. distribution and global sales functions. In 2017 Deadline.com reported CBS Films would finance '' Jane the Virgin'' actor Justin Baldoni's first directing/producing effort based on an original script by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. In January 2019, it was reported that CBS Films will release four theatrical films in 2019, then be folded into the main CBS Entertainment Group, switching its focus to creating original film content for

CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

. ''Jexi'' was CBS Films' final theatrical release on October 11, 2019. The ViacomCBS merger, which closed on December 4, 2019, returned

to being a sister company of CBS, making a theatrical subsidiary for the network superfluous.

Filmography

Notes

References

External links